National Chicken Day by Marti Ronemus

A: 2♥: You weren't going to bid 1♠, were you? The hand isn't that much to cluck about. You don't know whether your partner is a little 7 pt. fluffy peepie, or a big 17 pt. rooster, and you don't actually care. You've got enough to give a minimum raise. You don't really want to bid a new suit. Remember, supporting your partner's suit in a competitive auction is the weakest raise you can give. And that's what you've got.

Your result so far:

A: 2♣: Unlike the last hand, not only do we have support for partner's suit, but we care where on the 7-17 pts scale he is. We're going to scramble the action a little by cuebidding the opponent's suit. A cuebid says the following things: 1) I have a fit with you. 2) I have 10 plus points. 3) I want to know how many points you have. A simple raise would show the trump fit, but a minimum response. Cheep cheep.

Your result so far:

A: 3♠: First though, you didn't hesitate to shake your tail feathers and open this hand, did you? You have too many points to preempt! As to your rebid--partner, in a competitive auction, showed a minimum hand with three-card support. He raised you according to the Law of Total Tricks. You know something he doesn't--you've got the ninth trump, which gives you the right to compete to the three-level.

Your result so far:

A: 3♥: We know, we know. You only have 13 HCP, but Pard just raised you. You can add more points for your distribution. You've got something to crow about, great distribution the ninth trump and a singleton. Show an intermediate hand, and make Pard decide how big an omelet to make.

Your result so far:

A: 4 No-trumps: After East's huge pre-emptive opener, we can't just sit there. We choose the Unusual Notrump, a bid that guarantees five-five in the two lowest unbid suits. Normally, when bidding the Unusual Notrump, we're doing it over a 1-level opener, and we skip a level, bidding 2 No-trumps. When done at a low level, the bid can be made with a weak hand. But at this level, your hand better not be just chicken feed. You don't need to skip a level of bidding, either. What could be more Unusual than leaping into an auction with that bid? Do you know the expression, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner?" The bid is a winner. And now we're going to play the hand, but as defenders. Let's see who lays an egg.

Your result so far: